I always marvel at how post inspiration presents itself at the perfect time.

Not finding inspiration in the prompt, I decided to listen to the Adele station on I Heart Radio while I thought. The music is free, but there is a commercial that plays when you first get on (I guess they need to make their money somehow). The commercial that plays is usually the same one, and it’s the same one that plays on TV, for Canine Advantix. The one where the woman won’t let her muddy dog inside.

Today, I was surprised to see a commercial, actually it’s not really a commercial per say, but it was for Walgreen’s. There aren’t many ads that bring me to tears. Okay, the ASPCA commercials around Christmas usually do.

What you are about to see was the type of thing that makes you all full inside. All I will say is, wouldn’t be nice if we all had the perspective of children: giving and optimistic. I think we be a happier planet.

As I’ve said, my medication is given every day and night like clockwork at seven. It’s antiseizure medication, so I guess every twelve hours helps to prevent seizures for 24 hours. Anyway, when either parent comes into my room, there is another thing that happens at seven pm. It’s guaranteed that I will get an eye roll, a shake of the head, and usually an “Are you serious?” because of what’s on TV.

I now realize how dumb “Full House” is, but does that stop me from watching? Absolutely not! Actually, it’s not so much the show I enjoy. It’s remembering a time when life was so simple. The biggest worry was that big test on the decimal system.

My sister Sarah jokingly (I think) gets after Mom: “why didn’t you warn me adulthood is so hard?” Sarah actually wants to go to our junior high and high school, where everyone looks so small, and tell them to appreciate this time in their life before it’s too late.

I’m listening to the nineties station on I Heart Radio as we speak, and in October Sarah and I are going to a Hansen concert. I expect the other concertgoers to be in their early thirties, like us. We all will be remembering when life was simple.

I complain about it all the time: my routine is the same every day. Wake up at six thirty; watch the news, medicine, “Good Morning America,” my aide, Maria, arrives at eight, shower… To most people, having your life run like clockwork would be maddening

In some ways having my life run on a schedule is comforting. It’s a sense of security. Predictability.

Looking back it could be for other reasons, but it seems like when the routine is broken, trouble follows. I could be in the hospital, etc.

I started a Pinterest board entitled “Blog Prompts.” I also have a couple books of them. This post is in response to the prompt, “Name some things we use every day that will be obsolete in twenty years.”

Paper books (They are becoming obsolete already, but everyone will have a Kindle or Nook by then)

The post office

Grocery stores (everything bought on Amazon)

Gas stations

Cars that drive themselves becoming the norm

Stoves controlled by humans (I bet the next thing will be that you tell a computer what you want and, working with the fridge, it whips it up.)

A device that walks dogs without a human

Maybe movie theaters as home entertainment systems become more and more sophisticated

Today we live in a world where convenience is king. McDonald’s is open 24 hours (does anybody get a Big Mac craving at three in the morning?), Target is basically a grocery store, and smart phones rule our lives.

I never go an hour without the internet! My parents know that it goes out for ten minutes, I have a conniption!

But we all did okay without these new-fangled things. Remember snail mail?

When I was in elementary school (late eighties/early nineties) I had several pen pals, which I acquired in various ways. Jeanne from Wisconsin and I were matched through an American Girl magazine pen pal program. She was my age (nine or ten). Michelle and Karen were from Dublin. I had actually taken the reigns, addressing the envelope to “any school, any city, Dublin, Ireland.” Definitely a different time!!!

I had so much fun picking out the stationary and pens! Bonus: it was an excuse to go to my beloved Farrs’s Stationers.

E-mail has replaced most handwritten communication. Convenient, yes. The most fun, no.

I’m expecting to get lots of comments for this post as the subject is religion based and it’s a controversial topic. You don’t agree with me? That’s perfectly fine. Maybe we can start a dialogue. You list your reasons against and I will list my reasons.

Maggie’s health is rapidly declining. She has always been prone to skin issues. She went to the vet with yet another skin issue a couple weeks ago, but the vet couldn’t identify it. On the blood work, though, he found something else. My sweet dog is in liver failure.

I know a vet’s goal is to save animals, but when he found a problem with her liver, he had a huge list of treatments. Maggie is eleven! After my soul searching by me watching her, my parents and I have decided that it’s time for the one last trip to the vet L. But it’s for the best. Besides the skin issue, she hasn’t been eating and there has been a stinky mess in my room when I wake up almost every day this week.

With all of our pets, it is Dad who always gets that job but he’s on a business trip right now. It will have to wait three or four days—just enough to spoil her rotten.

Now my question to my readers: Do dogs go to heaven?

My opinion? Heaven is paradise where everything is perfect, right?

How could a place be perfect without our canine friends?

So, it will probably be in fifty or sixty years (Mom’s side of the family lives forever), but I know I’ll be reunited with my sweetheart.

Last week I received this card from the people at Free Wheelchair Mission. Just out of the blue. Some of the employees have become friends, but I was so surprised, especially since my last donation was in November.

The sweet boy on the card looks thrilled. He must have just received his wheelchair. His life has done a complete 180! I don’t know how he got around before, but some of their recipients have spent their lives crawling on the ground. He now can go to school, later open a business and provide for his family.

I’m getting ahead of myself; of course, I’m just excited for him. But there are 100 million people just like him. But they don’t have wheelchairs. 100 million!

Being disabled, and having cheated death a few times myself, it highlights what’s truly important. And here’s a clue: it’s not what our politicians have been squabbling over.

Our priest says something that is so true: “If you were born in America, you have already won the lottery.”

You say the word “wedding” and I have some expectations: The flowing white dress. The flowers. The church. Yes, I’ve been to probably four or five weddings and they were pretty much the same. The doors open, the crying father walks his daughter down the aisle, while the groom is white as a sheet. “Dearly beloved…”

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share with you a different kind of wedding happening today. I saw it on the news last night and I just had to do a post. So all I’ll say is that the couple in question exudes love, and isn’t that what February 14th about?